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"Decent pay" is relative. Let's take your 60k - in Mississippi, that's better than decent. However, in California, MD, NJ etc.. that's probably not really decent. Also, 60K is probably more decent for a single person vs. one that has a wife and 4 kids.
There are plenty of 'statistics' out there that will tell you what line of work pays well. In fact, just driving into work today, they were talking about the highest paid college majors. #1 was Petroleum engineering, followed by Computer science, and then nursing. And most of the other 'careers' mentioned were all in engineering with regards to pay. That being said, if you look on these boards, you'll find folks in computer science and nursing who can't find jobs.
Bottom line - there is no clear cut answer. As these things are impacted by a number of factors - employee performance/motivation, employer, location, economy, etc. In a bad economy, I don't think there really is a "secure" job. On the other hand, if someone is unreliable/unmotivated, the best economy isn't necessarily going to shield them from unemployment.
Just because YOU make more, doesn't mean it isn't decent. There are only a few states which have a HOUSEHOLD median income over 70K. So, I'd say in the big picture 60K is pretty decent.
Of course, if we had a president in office who was a multi-millionaire (and all of them are) and couldn't put things in perspective, who told everyone making under 60K in NJ that they were making peanuts, roughly 75% of people in the state, well then, that means more than three quarters of our country earns poor salaries, doesn't it?
To answer the question, healthcare has the best job security, probably followed by tech. Though job security is poor in tech, there are an abundance of jobs and tech will always be evolving from this point forward.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Despite a few layoffs during the recession in 2009, I have found the most secure jobs with good pay to be those that are quasi-government. That means it's governed by elected commission/board but does not rely on tax dollars for funding, and is operated as a business with revenue from customers/tenants. This includes municipal utility districts, airports, port authorities, in some cases housing authorities, and redevelopment agencies. The jobs I am talking about are working for the agency itself, not for one of the tenants. Most have a broad array of jobs including management, administrative, skilled trades, engineering, analytical and IT. For example, working for the airport in leasing, maintenance, engineering (not for an airline or baggage handling contractor).
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